When Rob Carty’s clients find themselves in litigation, they demand elite-level advocacy. Rob has dedicated more than 30 years to representing his clients at the highest level—first as a judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force, then at Exxon Mobil Corporation, and then at two BigLaw firms, where he spent nearly 22 years representing large clients in complex litigation all over the country.
Briefing and Appellate Expertise
Modern judges have spoken: The brief is the most important part of nearly every appeal. Even in a trial court, there’s no substitute for a well-executed brief. You need your brief to stand out among the hundreds of others that land on your judges’ desks.
Rob is a recognized legal writer. In addition to his own clients, Rob’s fellow lawyers both inside and outside of NBWT routinely engage him to write and assist with complex and sensitive briefs. He’s served on the Board of Advisers for the Academy of American Legal Writers and the critical-reading panels for Black’s Law Dictionary (9th ed.) and Garner’s Modern American Usage (3d ed.). He occasionally posts at his legal-writing blog, The Heavy Pencil.
Rob has handled appeals all over the country. Before joining NBWT, he co-chaired Seyfarth Shaw’s national Appellate Team. He’s admitted to practice in the Texas Supreme Court, all other Texas courts, the U.S. Supreme Court, nine of the 13 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals.
Labor and Employment
Rob has represented major clients in labor-and-employment matters since he was a first lieutenant at Laughlin AFB. From single-plaintiff discrimination cases to complex litigation such as collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Rob has handled it.
Broad Subject-Matter Experience
In addition to labor-and-employment law, Rob’s practice has exposed him to a broad spectrum of legal issues. He has handled commercial disputes in multiple industries, consumer-finance cases, product-liability actions, environmental litigation, and trademark suits. He was even a criminal prosecutor in the Air Force. This diverse palette of work has made Rob adaptable and given him the tools to handle virtually any kind of appeal.
- Martindale-Hubbell AV-Preeminent rating
- America’s Best Lawyers every year since 2018
- Irish Legal 100 every year since 2020
- Benchmark Litigation Star every year since 2020
- The University of Texas at Austin – M.B.A., 1992
- The University of Texas at Austin – J.D., 1991
- The University of Texas at Austin – B.B.A. 1987, cum laude
Rob is permanently admitted to practice in courts from border to border and coast to coast:
- All Texas state courts
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
- U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
- U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
- U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas
He has also had the privilege of being admitted pro hac vice to many other courts:
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
- U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
- Superior Court of Maricopa County, Arizona
- Circuit Court of Charlevoix County, Michigan
- Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Illinois
Rob also led the briefing on scores of appellate briefs and motions in state courts in New England, amassing a near-perfect record in mortgage-foreclosure appeals.
Rob is a native Long Islander who moved to Texas at age 12. He’s been a solid Texan ever since. He and his wife live in beautiful Canyon Lake, Texas. He has three grown kids. He can often be found tinkering with his 1961 Thunderbird (formerly his grandmother’s), harnessing the ionosphere with his ham radio, or brushing up on his luthiery skills.